Illuminated display case



Feb. 21, 1939.

J, S. HILL ILLUMINATED DISPLAY CASE I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.

I) 16 SIZE:

IZUIEI INVENTOR JOSEPH STUART HILL BY MJW 1 ATTORNEY Feb. 21, 1939. J, s 2,148,159

ILLUMINATED DI SPLAY GAS E Filed Dec. 16, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IINVENTOR JOSEPH STUAET/IIILL 7 BY mi) ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 21, 1939 OFFICE ILLUMINATED D'ISPLA'Y CASE Joseph Stuart Hill, Ewing Township, Mercer County, N. -J., assignorto'C. V. Hilland Company, Incorporated, Trenton, N. .L, a corporation of New Jersey Application December 16, 1935, Serial No. 54,556

4 Claims.

My invention relates to display cases and the like andto illuminating means therefor and particularly to novel illuminating means for refrig- *erated display cases in which the lights or other sourcesof illumination are located outside of the refrigerated space butarrangeclto illuminate articles displayed therein.

'It has been usual heretofore to provide refrigerated display cases with illuminating means 10- cated outside of the refrigerated space and shielded from observers in such a way that the interior of the case is lighted while the lights are not visible from the front of the case. Thelighting means employed are frequently located along the upper edge or the top of the glass panel in the front of the case but in such constructions the shield or canopy covering the lights projects forwardly from adjacent portions of the case and is conspicuous and unattractive in appearance. Moreover it is difficult to provide adequate illumination for the refrigerated spa'ce'when the lights are arranged either along the upper edge 'of the front panel or in the top of the case especially when shelves are used in the refrigerated space since the shelves cast shadows over the space heneath the same. a

In accordance with my invention these objections to constructions of the prior art are overcome and inconspicuous and adequate illumination for the refrigerated space is provided by locating illuminating means in or adjacent the ends of the case and extending vertically thereof. These illuminating means may be used by themselves or in conjunction with illuminating means extending along the top of the case or located elsewhere as desired and the form and arrangement thereof may be varied considerably to adapt the same for use in any particular construction.

One of the objects of my invention is to improve the appearance of refrigerated display cases.

Another object of my invention is to provide more effective and uniform illumination of display cases. I

A further object of my invention is to provide illuminating means for refrigerated display cases located at or near the ends of the case and outside of the refrigerated space.

Another object of my invention is to provide a readily accessible enclosure for illuminating means adjacent the ends of a display case.

These and other objects and features of my invention will appear from the following description thereof in which reference is made to the accompanying figures of the drawings wherein typical forms of my invention are shown as applied to refrigerated display cases.

In the drawings:

Fig. lisaperspective of a typical form of show case embodying the present invention. it; Fig. 2 is ahorizontal sectional view through the cornerof the construction at the front of the display-case of Fig. 1, taken on the line 22.

Fig. 3 is a detail view of a portion of the construction shown in Figs. -1 and 2, a part thereof l 'o beingbroken away.

Fig.4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating an alternative 'type of construction embodying my invention; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a refrigill! erated display "casesuch as that illustrated in Fig.

1 embodying illuminating means of the type shown in Fig. 4. 7

While the invention may take various forms and be embodied in different types of construc- 2'0 tions Ihave illustrated the invention in Figs. 1, 2,

3 and -5 of the drawings as applied to a refrigerateddisplay case having a refrigerated space 2 with a multiple glass panel 4 in the front thereof and doors-B in the rear to provide access to the 155 refrigerated space. The base 8 of the case may contain a refrigerating unit of any suitable type or may be used partly or wholly as a storage space as desired.

The case is provided with a top member [0 which has'a downwardly extending marginal portion l2 at the front thereof and which may also extend down about the upper edges of the end members M of the case. Lighting means i6 are arranged along the upper edge of the glass panel 535 4 outside of the refrigerated space and are covered by a light shield 1 8 which extends downward from the top of the case over the lights so that they will not be visible to observers in front of the case but will illuminate the interior of the refrig- "e'rated space. The light shield may be formed integral with the top ll] of the case but is preferably formed separately therefrom and as shown is pivotally supported at 2 5 and extends downwardly into close proximity to the glass panel 4.' With 2 this construction I provide ready access to the lights for inserting or replacing the same, simply by raising the light shield. A reflector 22 is positi'oned above the lights Iii to direct light into the refrigerated space and is preferablysupported by 50 the top of the case. The light shield may be formed with louvres or other means 24 for ventilating the space about the lights and may have its inner surface blackened or rendered nonreflecting at 26 to preventjtheformation of re- 55 than the lights and may be the sole source of illumination of the case if desired. The position of the lights is such that the space beneath shelves 34 within the case is illuminated and shadows ordinarily produced by the shelves when only the upper lights l6 are used are illuminated. The interior of the case is thus illuminated more uniformly and effectively than heretofore and the light falls on the products displayed more nearly at the same angle as the articles are viewed from the outside of the case.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 the lights 30 are located outside of the glass panel 4 and beneath the light shields 32 and therefore the light shields project outwardly from the panel 4 into alignment with the projecting light shield I8 at the top of the case. The base of the case may also extend outwardly from the panel 4 as shown at 36 in Fig. 1 so that the panel 4 sets within a frame formed by the light shield 18, the light shields 32 and the portion 36. These elements project substantially uniformly on all sides of the panel with their outer surfaces lying in substantially a single plane so that the light shield is not noticeable or con spicuous and a neat attractive fixture is provided.

In order to provide access to the lights 30 from the front of the case in order that they may be easily inserted and removed I form the light shields 32 separately from the end members and top of the case whereby they can be easily removed and replaced. For this purpose the upper ends of the light shields are formed with positioning notches 40 engaging screws 42 or other suitable means located under the overhanging edge [2 of the top In and concealed thereby. The lower portion of the light shield is held in place by a single screw 44 so that the light shield can be easily removed by withdrawing screw 44 and slipping the light shield 32 downward. In replacing the light shield the upper end is pushed up under the overhanging portion l2 of the top until the notches 40 are engaged by screws 42 and the screw 44 near the lower end of the arm 32 is inserted and tightened. The light shield is then held firmly in position.

The form of my invention illustrated and described above insures more uniform and bright lighting of the refrigerated space while at the same time the lights are invisible and the light shields therefore are inconspicuous. Moreover the lights are all readily accessible for insertion or replacement and are located outside of the refrigerated space and in front of the glass panel 4.

In some cases, particularly when applied to relatively longdisplay cases it is desirable to have the lights positioned inwardly of the front glass panel 4 so that light therefromis projected in a direction nearly parallel thereto. In the construction illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 this is effected by forming the panes of glass in the panel 4 so that they terminate adjacent the inner edge of the light shield 32'. In this construction a space is provided between the end l4 of the case and the frame member 50, which holds the panes of glass in the front panel 4. The case is recessed at this point inwardly of the panel 4 to receive lights 52 and double glass panes 54 are positioned diagonally between the refrigerated space and the recess. These panes are supported at their edges by frame members 56 and 58 in any desired position to permit light from the lamps 52 to be projected into the refrigerated space. While I ordinarily prefer to position panes 54 at such an angle that they cannot be seen from the front of the case this angle may be varied considerably to obtain the most effective lighting of the refrigerated space and may even be parallel with the end of the case and visible from the front. In the latter case, however, I prefer to use frosted or white glass in the panes 54 so that the light will be diffused and not objectionable to observers in the front of the case.

In this construction, as in that of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the light shields 32' at the ends of the case are formed separately from the end members l4 and the top member of the case and are removable to provide access to the space in which the lights are located. These light shields may be secured in position by any suitable means such as screws 60 engaging brackets 62 carried by the frame member 50. A reflector 64 for the lights may also be used and preferably is formed in sections or removable to provide easier access to the lamps.

When the lights are located in recesses in the end members I 4' of the case as in the form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 4 the light shields 32' need not project in front of the panel 4 further than is required to provide a neat finished appearance to the case. However, the form of the side light shields may be varied as desired and when top lights located in front of the panel 4 are used it may be desirable to maintain the frame-like appearance of the light shields 32 and light shield l8 to improve the appearance of the construction. On the other hand when using the lights 52 as the sole source of illumination for the refrigerated space or when the upper lights are in the top of the case rather than in the position shown in Fig. 5 the light shields 32 may be flat and lie in substantially the same plane as the panel 4.

In each of the forms of my invention illustrated the end members, which are relatively thick for insulating purposes and which lie closely adjacent or support the ends of the glass panel in the front of the case, are reduced in thickness so that lights located adjacent the ends of the panel will project light into the rear of the case without material shadowing of the rear corners of the case by the end members.

Although I have illustrated and described two representative forms of illuminating means embodying my invention it will be evident that my invention may be embodied in numerous types of display cases and the form and arrangement of elements may be varied considerably. It should therefore be understood that the forms of my invention herein shown and described are intended for the purpose of illustrating representative constructions embodying the same and are not intended to limit the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A refrigerated display case having a base, a top and end members and provided with a refrigerated space having a glass panel in the front thereof extending between said end members and said top and base, illuminating means located outside the refrigerated space and adjacent the ends and upper edge of said panel and in front of said panel to direct light therethrough and into said refrigerated space, light shields projecting substantially uniformly in front of said panel and extending over said illuminating means about three sides of said panel and cooperating with said base to form a frame for the glass panel lying substantially in a single plane.

2. In a refrigerated display case having a top and end members and a refrigerated space below said top and between said end members provided with multiple glass panels in the front thereof through which articles in said space may be viewed, means for illuminating said space comprising lights arranged outside of said refrigerated space and adjacent the upper edge of said panel and adjacent the ends of said panel, and light shields carried by said top and end members and extending over said lights and into close proximity to the face of the outer member of i said multiple glass panel to shield said lights from view from the front of the case, said light shields projecting substantially equal distances in front of said panel so that the front faces thereof lie substantially in a single plane and provide a frame-like construction about the panel.

3. A refrigerated display case having a top and end members and a refrigerated space beneath said top and between said end members provided with a glass panel in the front of said space through which articles within said space may be viewed, illuminating means located adjacent the ends of said panel and in front thereof, and elongated light shields extending downward from adjacent the top of the case along the front edges of said end members, said top having a portion at the front edge thereof extending downward adjacent said end members, said light shields being movable longitudinally and with respect to said top and end members to provide access to said illuminating means, said light shields having the upper ends thereof projecting beneath said portion of the top and movable means engaging the lower portion of said light shields to prevent longitudinal movement thereof with respect to said top and end members.

4. A refrigerated display case having a base, a top, and end members and provided with a refrigerated space having a glass panel in the front thereof extending between said end members and said top and base, illuminating means located outside the refrigerated space and adjacent the ends of said panel and in front of said panel to direct light therethrough into said refrigerated space, light shields projecting uniformly in front of said panel and extending over said illuminating means and means extending along the upper and lower edges of said panel adjacent said top and base respectively and cooperating with said light shields to form a frame extending about said glass panel and lying substantially in a single plane.

JOSEPH STUART HILL. 

